THE PRESIDENT HAS SPOKEN – AT 9:05 P.M. ET:  Look outside.  The oceans are receding.  The oil is drying up.  BP is building windmills.  Taliban fighters are playing Doris Day records.  And all because of Barack.

Okay, now wake up.  According to The New York Times, here's what Obama said:

WASHINGTON — President Obama told the nation Tuesday night that he would instruct BP officials “set aside whatever resources are required to compensate the workers and business owners” harmed by the Gulf oil spill, and he named Navy Secretary Ray Mabus to develop a long-range plan to “restore the unique beauty and bounty of this region.”

Aren't we lucky.  Question for lawyers:  Does the president have the legal authority to "instruct" BP to do anything?   I don't know Ray Mabus, but isn't secretary of the Navy a full-time job?  Is the "long-range" plan something for weekends?  Vacation days off?

You just don't get the feeling that this administration puts much thought into anything the president says or does.  It's show biz.

Democrats and their allies immediately seized on Mr. Obama’s address to say it could help swing the public behind comprehensive energy legislation, stalled in the Senate, that would address dependence on foreign oil and reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that scientists say are responsible for warming the planet.

It would also cost American families a mint, with no guarantee of results. 

But Republicans, who are deeply opposed to Mr. Obama’s idea of capping carbon emissions, accused the president of manipulating the crisis for political gain.

“Exploiting the tragedy in the Gulf to try to ram through a devastating job-killing national energy tax is more of the same Chicago-style politics that has the President’s approval ratings plummeting to an all-time low,” said Michael Steele, the Republican National Committee chairman.

A bit harsh, but pretty accurate.  Before we enact more Obama legislation, we'd better find out exactly what's in it.

The speech changes nothing.  No new ideas.  No breakthroughs on cleaning up the mess. 

You didn't miss anything.  But be careful of that "energy" legislation, with its accompanying costs and taxes. 

June 15, 2010